Life is busy again

Such a long time since my last post, but I have a really good excuse this time. I FINALLY got a job! I now drive forklifts at a cold storage warehouse about 4 miles from here. I work from 7:30 am to 4 pm with a 30 minute break. The pay is kinda low for a forklift driver, but it is a job. I have been working there for 3 and a half weeks now. Half the time we are driving around on the lift loading and unloading various trailers. The other half of the time we are re-stacking pallets of 15 to 90 pound boxes of various cow parts for export to other countries. The reason we have to re-stack is because the pallets they come on have spacers between each layer of boxes so the freezers can freeze faster or keep them cooler better. Most exported goods request that those spacers be removed. The other reason a load may need to be re-stacked by hand is to take boxes off a regular pallet and put it on a heat treated pallet to prevent any bugs from going to other countries. My first week of doing this, especially the first 3 days, my back was extremely sore. Now I have finally got my physical strength back and the only effect I feel is being a little tired for the next few minutes. Thank goodness the body is such a wondrous healing machine.

Since my last post, I have also been on a blind date. I met this girl online and had been talking to her for several months before I moved here. She is from Lehi, but is going to school in Rexburg. One week she came home and we decided to do something together while she was 30 min closer. All we did was eat at a restaurant and then stay at her house and play games with her family.

I also played as a jungle gym for her niece and nephew. Kids do the darnedest things. It started off with the niece at one point coming up to me to give me a hi-five. Later on I snatched her up and held her for a moment as she would run up to me, tinker with my hair or clothes and then run away. As she struggled to get away, I asked her if she gave good hugs. She nodded quickly and I asked if she wanted to have a hugging contest. She smiled and nodded again, so I let her go. She got away but then turned back, came at me at a run, and then jumped into me nearly knocking me over as she started to give me a hug. After that, she would randomly run up to me to give me a hug. Then eventually she, and soon her brother also, would take turns on me as a human jungle gym.

The date was a lot of fun and I especially loved playing with kids again. I didn't realize how much I missed it because I haven't been around kids much the last 2 years. At any rate, we had so much fun on our blind date, that we are going to try it again this Sunday. I didn't get any pictures last time, but I hope to this time, so hopefully I'll have something more interesting for the next post than a bunch of writing. Now don't get your hopes up, but don't get me wrong either. I do like this girl, but because of the long distance, I am only willing to be friends at this point. I can't handle another long distance relationship, but I'm not closing the idea completely out either. Besides, I have some girls in the ward that I am interested in.

Speaking of girls in the ward, I finally built up the courage to introduce myself to the girl I'm most interested in here. It was at a "linger longer" 2 weeks ago where we stay after church and have food payed for by the ward. I told my roommate that I was going to sit by her and I did... or rather I sat across from her. There was a seat open and before it was snatched away, I walked up, told everyone that I was trying to meet new people in the ward and that I didn't know any of them, and then sat down. I'm glad I did. She and I talked quite a bit. Last Sunday I was going to ask her on a date for this weekend, but I chickened out. At church on Sunday, I am going to overcome that fear and ask her on a date for next weekend. My biggest fear right now is that she may only be 19 or 20 when I thought she could be 22 or 23. I guess for now, I'll just ask her on a date and see how it goes regardless of her age.